Last weekend I visited the New York Hall of Science with my family and a friend. The New York Hall of Science is a museum located in Queens and established in 1964. The museum offered many great indoor and outdoor exhibits that explored many different areas within the study of science. There was an abundance of variety amongst these exhibits as well, which allowed me, my father, and my three year old nephew to enjoy them alike.
The group of exhibits I enjoyed in particular were the ‘Seeing the Light’ exhibits. This series included optical illusions, reflections, refractions, and more. One of these exhibits had a motion tracking camera that output real-time colorful silhouettes in intervals, which proved to be most entertaining to me. Other parts of the series involved casting shadows and, at least what seemed to be, endless mirrors. However, my favorite part was the optical illusion section because the illusions are confusing. I’m incredibly intrigued by the fact that I can deceive myself through my own perception, and I believe there’s a real-life lesson to be learned there. This applies to my first semester at Baruch because it helped me understand perception, and how perception affects my peer’s opinions and my own. It also taught me why discipline is necessary by demonstrating how easily perception can be deluded.
Another exhibit worth noting is the ‘Connected Worlds’ exhibit in the Great Hall. Using projectors, the designers created immersive environments that show how your actions impact the ecosystem. These environments are designed to be interactive to exemplify how our decisions can have effects ranging from small to large scale, and short to long term. This experience helps me understand just how connected the world is, which pushes me closer to deciding what profession will allow me to benefit it the most.
The United Chinese Language Association is one of the many clubs offered here at Baruch College. I was first intrigued by this club when I heard the abbreviation of the club being shouted out during the Club Carnival on Convocation Day; UCLA. I was confused on why UCLA was at Baruch College when representatives of the club approached me and explained what the club actually stood for. The representatives were very nice and welcoming so I thought why not and decided to go to their general club interest meeting (also because their flyers were really pretty).
The Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) at Baruch College is an organization dedicated to promoting the rich Vietnamese heritage through social and cultural events both on and off campus.
As Thursday’s club hours approached, I kept searching for something that would truly be of interest to me. With Baruch’s pause on Greek life, I looked for a club that would offer some sort of excitement. Late Wednesday night, I saw a post for the Absolute Adrenaline club in the Baruch 2021 Facebook group, and decided that this might be worth my time. I scrolled through their Facebook page, and saw countless photos of students going rock climbing, paintballing, snowboarding, and more. I knew that I had to go check out this club and see what they were all about.
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund is a program which defends the rights of children across the nation. UNICEF works hard to preserve the right to education for many children while also providing clean water, sanitation, and nutrition. This week I attended the UNICEF @ Baruch to learn more about this movement.Through the meeting I learned how Baruch College gives back to the community. Out of all the events, the Halloween Bash stood out to me where as college students, we can raise money for children. Not only the club members can raise money but the whole college can. More events such as the Snowflake Ball, International Food Fair, and Not Alternative Facts is the perfect way to raise awareness and implement change for the betterment of all children. The main goal is to help all children to realize that they can reach their full potential.
Over the past weeks, I went to two GIM’s (general interest meeting); one for CPP (conversational partners program) and one for Baruch Accounting Society. Despite going to both club’s GIMs, I’ll only talk about CPP’s GIM. The GIM started off with refreshments and icebreakers, and then 20 minutes in, the president of CPP proceeded to explain their club values and events. During this time, we went over things we should or should not say to our partners and listed out things that we did not want to happen during our meetings with our partners (with being punched in the face as one of the things we did not want to happen). We were told there was a handbook on their site where we could use as a guide for our first meeting with our partners and were given a time stamp sheet. However, even with food, icebreakers and fun comments being thrown around, this GIM had a very “empty” feeling due to the fact that less than 20 people showed up for this GIM. Despite the lackluster GIM, this GIM gave an accurate impression of how the rest of my time at the club would be. Due to the nature of this club, where you have to meet up with your partner on your own time, there are no “club hours” and “club rooms”, so to speak of. It is normal to feel empty during the meetings because the whole goal of this club to is pair up with a non-native or native speaker and spend time together, whether there are club hours that day or not. I plan on getting involved in this club by taking the initiative in contacting my partner and going to some of the events set up by this club. I also plan on getting involved by joining one of their committees.
At both orientation and convocation I was introduced to Baruch’s magazine and was immediately drawn to it. I had written and edited a little for the school newspaper in my high school and really enjoyed it so when I found out that Baruch had a newspaper I had to go and find out more. The staff was extremely friendly and open to all the members they could get. It was apparent that they were supportive as they were constantly complimenting each other’s work. Though this was just a general interest meeting I can definitely see myself joining Ticker formally and either writing for the Arts section or also editing. Out of all of the clubs that Baruch has to offer I believe that Ticker will provide me with the best experiences and skills for freshman year. It is going to teach me not only how to become a better writer but also how to be open to team work and other people’s ideas.
One of the first organizations I checked out during club hours was Alpha Kappa Psi (AKPsi). In short, they are a professional business fraternity that focuses on brotherhood, professionalism, and philanthropy. The past week was the beginning of their first few rush events, where people can get to know what AKPsi is and network with both fellow rushes and the brothers. One of the events named “Spread the Love” was a philanthropy event in which we gave back to the community. We prepared peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to give to those in need. Personally, I believe the act of giving back is definitely something we should prioritize. There are many unfortunate people out there that can benefit from our acts in any shape or form. Something as simple as taking a sandwich and spreading peanut butter and jelly on it can really go a long way. I got the chance to talk to the brothers and learned more about AKPsi. Other than the brothers, there were also a large amount of rushes that came out to this event. I was able to meet a great deal of individuals who were in a similar situation as me, which was great, especially at a commute school like Baruch. Moreover, I was able to get insights towards my major, accounting. As a freshman, I do not exactly know what path I will take eventually and how exactly things would turn out, but it is all a learning experience. Maybe I will come to realize that accounting is the major for me, or it is not. It is different for everyone, so it is not until I really take a class or two to really find out for myself. Overall, I enjoyed the event and look forward to the many more that follow.
Upon arrival to Baruch I didn’t know what clubs to join, the first day of freshmen orientation Baruch allowed us to walk around to see if any clubs would peak our interest. I saw many clubs that caught my attention, however the first week passed and I realized I missed many of the clubs first general interest meeting. The second week came around and then I realized I didn’t know where my clubs met (lol). I was eating lunch one day when someone was passing out a flyer for the club F.U.S.I.O.N, I thought to myself “oh wow this club has a cool name” so I decided to swing by to see what it was about. It turned out to be the Filipinos Uniting Students In Other Nations, I decided to stay since, the members were friendly. Plus I ate some free food and didn’t want to be “that guy”.
Student life at Baruch is so diverse and there is so much to do! Last week on Thursday, I went to UNICEF’s GIM and attended a Heritage Month event. I didn’t know what UNICEF did exactly, but I have heard of them before. What got me to come to the first general interest meeting was the free food! Even though the free pizza wasn’t that great, I would love to come back and join UNICEF.